Nielson Enterprises
Nielson Enterprises is a M1WRS team that has competed since forming before the 2011, being known as Holt Racing in its first season. They have run Chevy Impalas since their inception and beginning in 2014, GM has given the team a massive contract to run liveries with their brands (AcDelco, Ally Financial, etc.). They are owned by veteran driver Wes Nielson who is the reigning series champion. In 2014, the team will field 6 cars, all with mainly black schemes to commemorate 2012 series champion, Josh Holt, who drove for the team, and was a long time friend of Wes Nielson. Founding and 2011-2012 seasons In 2002, Cris Crompton ended his own contract with Bonnett Racing because of his then-newfound "unending hatred of those racists". Instead of joining another team, he started his own. Initially, he ran 2 cars, but by 2006 he fielded 4 entries, the newest driver being Wes Nielson. The team added a 5th car in 2008. Instead of having the pressure of owning such a large team, before adding a sixth team, he decided to split the teams into 2 separate organizations. He chose fellow veteran driver and long-time employee Josh Holt to own the team. However, he stated after just 1 year "I hate the actual ownership part of owning, but all the free food before meetings is nice." He passed ownership on to defending champion Wes Nielson. The team now had 4 cars, Crompton's team with 3. The teams, as expected, had a strong technical alliance. Like Holt, Nielson struggled (by his standards) in his first year of being a team owner, with a 10th place points finish. The rest of the team did quite well actually, all 3 of Nielson's drivers finished in the Top 5 in points. 2013 2013 was a different year for Nielson. He found a way to make ownership easy; hiring able employees. Teams owned by Crompton, and then Nielson's team, have always been notorious with bad off-track luck, and faulty if not fast equipment. With reliable car for him to drive, Nielson cruised on to the 2013 championship, the 3rd in his relatively young career. However, trajedy fell upon the victory celebration at Daytona. As Nielson's #21 lead the field to the finish at Daytona, there was wreck in the back of the lead pack. The second group of cars, unable to slow down, piled into the 3 spinning cars at about 200 mph. 3 drivers were sent to the hospital as a result. Nate Linstrom recovered in the following months, but the other two were not so lucky. Red Smith sustained career-ending injuries, and Josh Holt's were even worse. After being in a coma for 9 weeks, he succombed to his injuries. 2014 Before the announcement of the IARC, about midway through the 2013 season, Cris Crompton issued Nielson challenge. He said at the press conference to Nielson "I see you're doing fine managing yourself at 3 others, how'd you like 2 more?" Nielson gladly accepted the challenge (and the bonus that came with it). Wes Nielson and Cris Crompton have openly admitted that they will have the "most intense friendly rivalry ever."